Chapter 95 The long dream paid in full Part 1
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It was the cold winter weather of March 9th again. The weather was freezing everywhere, and one’s breath would turn into ice, especially this year. Even Dongyun Kingdom, a treasure land that had never been cold in winter, not hot in summer, and envied by everyone, suffered an unprecedented cold wave this year. The green mountains and plains were covered with frost. In order to resist the cold air that penetrated the bones, the people put on big padded jackets one by one, with their necks and sleeves tucked into their sleeves.
Liuzhen was located on the border of Dongyun Kingdom, by the waterway. The merchants of Yan Kingdom crossing the Jiaolu River, would always negotiate business with the merchants of Dongyun in the nearby Liuzhen. There were many business trips. Along the street in Liuzhen, there were two rows of restaurants and shops and the business of Goulan Teahouse was very prosperous, bustling and noisy.
Except this winter.
There was a very famous Lao Wang’s sheep soup restaurant on the corner of Liuzhen Street. At this time of previous years, the colder the weather, the better the business of their family. When it was not dawn, there was already a long queue at the door of the shop, waiting to eat the Touguo Lamb Soup. The lamb soup that has been just boiled was steaming hot, strong white and fragrant, mutton tender but not stinky, sprinkled with chopped green onions, and served with browned and soft flat bread that had just come out of the pot. Eating it in the winter, one’s whole body would turn warm, feeling comfortable and when someone is feeling good, even talking business would turn more refreshing and agile.
But this year, even this most lively mutton soup shop was deserted. A large pot of fragrant mutton soup was boiled. In previous years, it was sold out in less than half an hour. This year, even having it out for the majority of the day, it still wasn’t sold out. The sparse flow of people on the street did not show the bustle of the past, and there were few diners in the store.
Shopkeeper Wang’s face was wrinkled like a bitter gourd, and he sat in front of the stove at the door with his sleeves rolled up, sighing while heating the fire. The business of several neighboring shops did not do much better, and the shopkeepers simply gathered around, chatting nonsense while squatting eating seeds.
“Have pity on my mutton soup, it’s all boiled with high-quality mutton bones. Now I can’t even earn money for firewood.” Shopkeeper Wang sniffed.
“Hey, who isn’t suffering. This year, even my wife’s money had to be thrown in!”
“Everything was fine, why do you think the Yan people won’t come to do business? Although it is cold today, the Jiaolu River has not frozen!” Shopkeeper Wang said.
“Ah, shopkeeper Wang, you haven’t heard of it yet?”
The old man Sun who sold roasted seeds and nuts spat out a melon seed shell and lowered his voice: “My old lady is a person from Yan country. Her family came to join us two days ago. I took a look, hey, they all looked as if they were fleeing. After I asked, I found out that they were here to flee because the Yan Kingdom is in chaos!”
“What?!” The other shopkeepers all widened their eyes.
Old Man Sun spit all over, and said mysteriously: “Civil strife! I heard that a high-ranking official with the surname Pang in Yan Kingdom rebelled. In order to force the emperor to abdicate, the rebels surrounded the capital of Yan Kingdom, Sheng An City. Other places also followed the chaos. There were murderers, arsonists and robbers everywhere. The business people were busy packing up their beds and fleeing for their lives, and the ferryboats on the Jiaolu River were also scared away. My relatives took a lot of effort to escape to here.”
“My God, what is this all about!”
Shopkeeper Wang sighed, thinking that his business was hopeless, but a flash of light suddenly flashed in his mind, and a glimmer of hope appeared: “Wait, isn’t there a powerful general in Yan Kingdom, known as the silver masked King of H*ll or something? Why didn’t he come out and kill the rebels? I heard from the Yan people in my shop that he was a god-blessed general, and even Beirong barbarians who are so sturdy, were all beaten by him to the point where they cried for their mother!”
“I’ve heard of him too. Before we had trouble with water bandits on the Jiaolu River, wasn’t he the one who killed them?” Another person echoed.
Shopkeeper Sun’s expression became a little weird. He sighed silently, and said, “You don’t know, that silver masked King of H*ll is dead! If it wasn’t for him, how would those thieves in Yan Kingdom dare to rebel!”
“What?!!!”
There was another exclamation, and the shopkeepers were all startled. They were about to ask, but they heard the sound of horses’ hooves coming from afar. Shopkeeper Wang recovered from the shock, looked back, hurriedly put the long scarf on his shoulders, wiped his hands nimbly, and greeted the people with a smile.
The horse’s hoof stopped in front of him and a young man came down. He was dressed in a neat dark red cloud pattern and dressed in sable fur. He was tall and handsome, and the slightly curly hair on his forehead made him look unrestrained. He was followed by a servant boy in good clothes. Shopkeeper Wang knew at a glance that this person was wealthy and respectable. He thought that he could be considered a god of wealth, so he was busy helping to hold the horse, and said with a smile: “Two guests, do you want to have a snack or to come into the restaurant? The lamp soup is still very fresh and there are guest rooms upstairs, the fire is booming!”
“Snack.”
Jiu Jin responded casually, pulled up the curtain, then Helian Rongchuan stepped into the store, glanced around, and sat down with a look of disappointment. After a while, the steaming lamb soup and flatbread were served. Helian Rongchuan took a few sips, but he couldn’t taste anything and just remained silent.
Shortly after Yan Changqing’s farewell, the residual poison of the scorched-tailed snake on Helian Rongchuan’s body relapsed. This time the condition was no trivial matter. As a result, Helian Rongchuan had to follow Wei Jin’s instructions to retreat in Diecui Valley, and he did not fully recover until two days ago.
When he woke up from his stupor, the first thing Helian Rongchuan asked was, “Has he come back?” But the little imperial doctor and a few personal servants all shook their heads. Helian Rongchuan pinched his fingers to calculate, it had been more than three months since Yan Changqing left. He couldn’t help worrying about his situation in Yan Kingdom, but the news in the valley was blocked and it was too hard to wait, so Helian Rongchuan left the valley and planned to enter Yan again.
This place was the border of Dongyun, and it had always been in close contact with the Yan people. This lamp soup shop was the favorite of Yan Kingdom Business merchants. Helian Rongchuan originally planned to come here to inquire about the situation of Yan Changqing’s siege of Ningcheng, but when he came in, he was half heartbroken. In the empty store, apart from him and Jiu Jin, there was only the shopkeeper and the waiter, there were no other customers.
Why was it so cold? What about the Yan people? Was it too cold and they were not coming? Or did something else happen?
He didn’t know how his eldest baby fought the battle and if he was injured or not.
Helian Rongchuan anxiously touched the bag beside him, they were all the good pills he had stolen and looted from Wei Jin.
He hoped he wouldn’t be able to use any of these medicines.
Seeing that Helian Rongchuan’s face was not good, shopkeeper Wang thought it was his own lamp soup that didn’t taste right, so he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. In the past few days, in order to save costs, he quietly added a few more bones to the pot and put a few less pieces of meat. Could he tell? Shopkeeper Wang scooped a spoonful of thick soup from the large pot, took a few breaths, and took a sip.
It seems… the taste is a little less?
Shopkeeper Wang smacked his lips and was thinking about whether to add more ingredients, but he heard the sound of horse hooves coming towards him. Shopkeeper Wang was overjoyed. The person in his heart was indeed the God of Wealth. He was really lucky. Today it can be considered actual business! He hastily put down the iron spoon to greet him.
The carriage stopped, and nine people descended in a row, old and young, all dusty and earthy. Although the material of the clothes on their body was luxurious, it was dirty and tattered. Several frail women seem to be injured. Only a seven- or eight-year-old boy had a bit of freshness on his face, holding a silver-haired old lady’s hand.
Shopkeeper Wang was stunned for a moment, his heart suddenly became cold, and he secretly said, these miserable ones, could they be Yan people who fled? Heck, they don’t want free food from his store, do they?
So the smile on Shopkeeper Wang’s face became a little colder: “Oh, guests, are you here for food?”
The little boy swallowed sharply at the pot with the smell of meat and white steam, and raised his head slightly. Embarrassed, he said: “Excuse me, do you have hot water in your house?”
Oh, he was indeed fleeing, and he treated him as a virtuous Bodhisattva!
Shopkeeper Wang suddenly became angry, hung his face, and said without a smile: “Where did these beggars come from? There is no hot water, just the hot lamb soup, but I’m afraid you can’t afford it.”
He knew the people in front of them must be from a big family. Although they were in trouble, they still needed face, so he deliberately called them beggars to drive them away.
Sure enough, this group of old, weak, sick and young all showed embarrassment, and anger, and understood what Shopkeeper Wang meant. But the little boy was reluctant to leave, his big black and white eyes stared at the cauldron reluctantly, hesitating.
“Then… we just want soup, not meat, okay? I beg you, we came all the way here and were robbed. We lost our money, and we didn’t eat for two days…”
The little boy started crying. The old lady behind him reluctantly hugged the little boy, but did not want to stay any longer.
When he cried, shopkeeper Wang became even more angry. He was always annoyed that his business was losing money every day, and finally someone came, but it was a group of beggars. Looking at the dejected faces and tears, what if you disturb the God of Wealth in his store!
Shopkeeper Wang thought about it and picked up the big iron spoon to drive the people away: “You bum, I’m not a Bodhisattva Temple. If you want to cry, cry elsewhere, don’t give me bad luck!”
A group of people were chased by the big iron spoon and had to turn around to go elsewhere. But before taking two steps, a clear voice sounded behind him: “Several people, please wait a minute.”
Helian Rongchuan lifted the curtain, leaned against the door, raised his eyebrows and glanced at Shopkeeper Wang in dissatisfaction: “Isn’t it just no money? Is this enough?”
When he lifted his wrist, a light flashed, and Shopkeeper Wang caught it in the palm of his hand. When he looked at it, his eyes suddenly went blank.
Gold! In the palm of his hand was a solid, bright golden ingot!
Not to mention ten bowls of lamb soup, even if he wanted to buy ten big fat lamb, he wouldn’t use it all up! ! He’s rich!
A group of nine people thanked him again and again, then sat down in the store. Steaming broth and a large stack of crispy flatbread was served. The little boy swallowed a few times, and was about to pick up the bowl, but the old lady next to him patted his hand lightly.
The little boy seemed to remember something, swallowed his tongue, took back his hand obediently, then picked up the small spoon beside him. He drank the soup one bite at a time, and ate the torn bread, very polite and upright.
“Hey, this family is so hungry, why are they so particular about their appearance.” Jiu Jin couldn’t help sighing: “What kind of old-fashioned family taught this?”
Helian Rongchuan’s mouth showed a slight smile. This little boy was well-mannered, and his demeanor of eating food looked a little familiar.
Helian Rongchuan couldn’t help but feel a little bit of love for the crow that lived on the house (love the house so love the crow that lives on it too; loving something because it is connected). He asked Shopkeeper Wang to add chopped mutton to send over. The little boy looked surprised. He looked at Helian Rongchuan, then looked at the elders around him. After receiving consent, he hesitated for a while, then shyly walked up to Helian Rongchuan and bowed in a proper manner: “Thank you, big brother.”
Helian Rongchuan couldn’t help laughing out loud. Only then did he realize that this little boy’s eyes were also extremely clear, and the black and white eyes were quite similar to Yan Changqing’s.
He couldn’t help laughing and said: “Little guy, where did you come from? Where are you going?”
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